Martial Arts News

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A heavyweight showdown pitting Curtis Blaydes against Derrick Lewis will serve as the main event of a UFC card on Nov. 28.

ESPN was first to report the booking. A location for the event has not been announced.

"I'm happy and excited about it," Blaydes told ESPN. "This is the one I asked for, and I'm happy the UFC listened and made it a main event. I know Derrick Lewis is a name, he has a large following and a win over him will solidify my case as the next one to go after the heavyweight title. I know [Francis] Ngannou is up next, and I want to build my case for after him.”

Blaydes has won four straight bouts since a 45-second TKO loss to current heavyweight No. 1 contender Francis Ngannou at UFC Fight Night 141 in November 2018. Most recently, Blaydes earned a five-round verdict against Alexander Volkov in the …

Just ate it @JimMiller_155 was absolutely unfazed by Pichel's headkick.

Prelims close now on @ESPN pic.twitter.com/l5lRfLjArr

— UFC (@ufc) August 16, 2020 Sign up for ESPN+ right here, and you can then stream the UFC live on your smart TV, computer, phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app. The UFC 252 preliminary card averaged 831,000 viewers this past Saturday on ESPN, according to ShowBuzz Daily.

That ranks as the fifth best offering for a pay-per-view preliminary card on ESPN thus far in 2020. However, it does surpass the ratings of the last two cards, UFC 250 (775,000) and UFC 251 (809,000). The highest rated prelims of 2020 remains UFC 246, with 1.767 million viewers for the lead-in to a pay-per-view headlined by Conor McGregor’s Octagon return.

The UFC 252 prelims, which featured a lightweight clash between Vinc Pichel and Jim Miller, peaked at 1.2 million viewers for the broadcast. That card also secured a 0.29 rati…

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A light heavyweight rematch between Mauricio Rua and Paul Craig has been scheduled for UFC 255.

ESPN was first to report the booking. UFC 255 takes place on Nov. 21 and is headlined by a flyweight championship tilt between Deiveson Figueiredo and Cody Garbrandt. In the co-main event, Valentina Shevchenko will defend her 125-pound belt against Jennifer Maia. A location for the event has not been announced.

Rua and Craig initially squared off at UFC Fight Night 164, where their clash ended in a split draw this past November.

“Shogun” returned to the win column in his most recent outing, as he captured a split-decision triumph over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira at UFC on ESPN 14 on July 25. The 38-year-old Brazilian has been victorious in five of his last seven Octagon appearances dating back to 2015.

Craig was …

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TqKQUNk5JA&w=560&h=315]

Cage Warriors 115 has added an exciting clash between two up-and-coming fighters.

Welshman Ben Ellis is taking on Kingsley Crawford in a 145-pound clash at the second of the three events Cage Warriors announced for its September return. A person with knowledge of the situation informed Sherdog about the matchup, which was then confirmed by a promotion official.

Ellis (2-0) is arguably one of the most promising young talents fighting out of Wales at the moment. He made his pro debut last year after a brilliant amateur career that ended with a record of 7-0. So far, all his fights have ended in the opening stanza, as he trashed both Brad Evans and Rafael Skouras at CW 104 and CW 108, respectively.

Crawford (5-2) is currently riding a two-bout streak after he steamrolled  Scott Butters at CW 111 before submitting Lewis Monarch via triangle choke at CW 113. So fa…

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It appears that Anthony Johnson will be cutting weight when he makes his long-awaited comeback to the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Johnson’s manager, Ali Abdelaziz, told ESPN that “Rumble” will enter the UFC’s drug testing pool this week. He must be available for testing six months before he is eligible to fight again. Johnson removed him self from USADA testing following a loss to Daniel Cormier in a 205-pound title bout at UFC 210 in April 2017.

While Johnson initially considered making a return at heavyweight after watching the Cormier-Stipe Miocic rematch at UFC 241, “Rumble” is now planning on competing in the light heavyweight division.

Johnson’s news comes on the heels of Cormier’s retirement following a loss to Miocic in their trilogy at UFC 252 and the announcement that Jon Jones has vacated his li…

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Eye pokes were once again a story in the third meeting between Stipe Miocic and Daniel Cormier, so it’s no surprise that both will need medical clearance from eye specialists.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission released a full list of medical suspensions from UFC 252 on Monday. Miocic retained his heavyweight crown with a unanimous decision victory over Cormier in Saturday’s main event at the UFC Apex in Las Vegas.

Miocic, who underwent surgery after being poked in the eye in his second bout with Cormier, was on the receiving end of another foul in the opening stanza at UFC 252. The Strong Style Fight Team member must have retinal specialist clearance on his left eye before he can compete at again. At a minimum he is suspended until Sept. 30 with no contact until Sept. 15.

Cormier, meanwhile, endured an eye po…

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Jon Jones is no longer king of the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s light heavyweight division.

The reigning light heavyweight champion announced via Twitter on Monday that he has officially vacated his 205-pound belt.

“Just got off the phone with [the UFC],” Jones wrote. “Today I confirm that I’m vacating the light heavyweight championship. It’s officially up for grabs. It’s been an amazing journey, sincere thank you to all my competition, UFC and most importantly, you fans.”

Just got off the phone with @Ufc, today I confirm that I’m vacating the light heavyweight championship. It’s officially up for grabs. It’s been an amazing journey, sincere thank you to all my competition, Ufc and most importantly you fans.

— BONY (@JonnyBones) August 17, 2020

Jones threatened to vacate the belt…

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Outside of a post-fight interview with Joe Rogan, Daniel Cormier didn’t get to say his piece following a unanimous decision loss to Stipe Miocic in the UFC 252 main event this past weekend.

Cormier was transported to a nearby hospital shortly thereafter to be treated for a potential injury that resulted from an accidental eye poke by Miocic in the third round of their heavyweight title clash. As a result, “DC” did not attend Saturday’s post-fight press conference to further address his future.

However, Cormier has frequently said UFC 252 would be his last fight, and a statement issued on his Instagram account Monday seemed to confirm those plans. The American Kickboxing Academy captain was classy in defeat, thanking, Miocic, his family, fans, team and the UFC for all the support over the years.

“Thank you all fo…

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A featherweight matchup pitting Edson Barboza against Sodiq Yusuff is in the works for the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s Oct. 10 card.

Multiple outlets confirmed the booking following an initial report from Combate. That means that a previously reported bout between Barboza and Jeremy Stephens that was targeted for Oct. 3 did not come to fruition. The Oct. 10 card is expected to take place on Yas Island in Abu Dhabi, though a location has not been officially confirmed.

Barboza made his 145-pound debut at UFC on ESPN 8, where he dropped a narrow split verdict against Dan Ige. The 35-year-old Brazilian has lost five of his last six Octagon appearances, with his lone victory coming over Dan Hooker at UFC on Fox 31 during that slump.

Yusuff, 27, has emerged as a prospect to watch in the featherweight division a…

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Brazilian sports television program "Esporte Espetacular," broadcast by Rede Globo every Sunday morning, recently aired an extensive interview with Anderson Silva and his son, Gabriel Silva.

In a video produced by MMA journalists Raphael Marinho and Marcelo Barone from Combate.com, Anderson Silva revealed that after two surgeries he is already training for a UFC return either at the end of 2020 or the beginning of next year. “The Spider” is just waiting on the UFC to confirm Anthony Pettis as his next opponent.

"UFC owes me a super fight by contract. Conor [McGregor] called me out right after my fight with [Israel] Adesanya. Our team talked to his team and we agreed upon a bout at [170 pounds], but something happened and UFC decided to not make it,” Silva said. “Then Anthony Pettis proposed that super fight, and I li…

HIGH LEVEL.

Former champion @JamesWebbMMA takes on @theTHNDRcat at CW115!

An important fight for 2 of Europe's elite at 185lbs. pic.twitter.com/7ZrkOcU1Cf — Cage Warriors (@CageWarriors) August 17, 2020

Two former Cage Warriors champions are colliding in a 185-pound clash.

Former welterweight champion Craig White is moving up to the middleweight division to take on the former divisional champion James Webb at CW 115. MMA Junkie initially reported the news before the British promotion officially announced it on Monday morning.

Ultimate Fighting Championship alum White (14-11) is looking to bounce back from a four-bout skid. White's stint in the UFC didn't go according to plan, as "The Thundercat" was first steamrolled by Neil Magny at UFC Fight Night 130 before dropping a decision to Diego Sanchez at UFC 228. After his Cage Warriors return, he was edged by Joilton Lutterbach at CW 102, and then he had to verbally tap out to Lou…

Two brothers will compete on the same KSW card.

On Sunday morning, a person with knowledge of the situation informed Sherdog that Lukasz Rajewski would be locking horns with Bartlomiej Kopera in a lightweight clash at KSW 54. The Polish organization officially announced the match a few hours later.

In his latest cage appearance, Rajewski (9-6-1NC) submitted Piotr Przepiorka via rear-naked Choke in the third stanza of their encounter at Babilon MMA 11. Prior, "Raju" went on a three-bout skid. His last KSW appearance dates back to the KSW 44 event, when he submitted Leo Zulic thanks to a kneebar in the opening stanza in June 2018.

Kopera (9-5) is still looking for his first victory under the KSW banner. So far, he dropped a couple of decisions to Filip Wolanski and Maciej Kazieczko at KSW 42 and KSW 47, respectively.

On the same night, "Raju"'s brother, Sebastian Rajewski (8-5), will put his four-bout winning streak on the line again…